Both Gaetz and now retired councillor Chuck Stam had filed freedom of information (FOI) requests for details about out-of-town conferences and meetings for which Waddington filed expense claims.

Some of the people Waddington said he met with came forward to say the meetings never happened.

At that time, he called the “tens of thousands” of dollars of taxpayer money spent to investigate his $1,500 in expenses a political move.

“I don’t believe this effort is administrative, I believe it is political,” Waddington said. “And it’s going to be a very expensive endeavour for the city, so it will be up to the public to decide if this was the right course of action to take.”

The charges Waddington, 30, face come under section 122 of the criminal code, which states: “Every official who, in connection with the duties of his office, commits fraud or a breach of trust is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, whether or not the fraud or breach of trust would be an offence if it were committed in relation to a private person.”